Shitty Breaks

Not everything that glitters is gold - which is why bestselling travel writer Ben Aitken went to Wolverhampton for the weekend. Over the next year, the author of A Chip Shop in Poznan and The Gran Tour visited the least popular places in the UK and Ireland for a city break, as ranked by national tourism boards. The motivation wasn't to take the biscuit or to stick the boot in, but to seek out the good stuff, to uncover the gems, to have a good time. By doing so, he hoped to demonstrate that anywhere - like anyone - can be interesting and nourishing and enjoyable if approached in the right fashion (i.e. with your eyes closed). Ben stayed in a treehouse in Newry, went skydiving in Milton Keynes and suffered jellied eels in Chelmsford. He went curling in Preston, to the football in Wrexham and had far too much craic in Limerick. The result is a celebration of the underdog; a hymn to the wrong direction; and evidence that there's no such thing as a shitty break. What's more, by spreading its attention and affection beyond the usual suspects (which are often overdone and overpriced), Shitty Breaks promotes a less expensive and more sustainable brand of travel and tourism. AUTHOR: Ben Aitken was born under Thatcher, grew to 6ft then stopped, and is an Aquarius. He is the author of four books: Dear Bill Bryson, A Chip Shop in Poznan (a Times bestseller), The Gran Tour ('Both moving and hilarious', Spectator) and The Marmalade Diaries.